PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Juha Virtanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Howard Wolowitz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Virtanen's entrance music is Muistipalapelit by Stam1na. A fine choice. Juha Virtanen has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Virtanen
vs
Wolowitz

182 cm
24
155 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

175 cm
19
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
KO power

Good wrestler
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Juha Virtanen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Howard Wolowitz!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Roosa Järviläinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Virtanen is trying hard to land a takedown here. Wolowitz sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Virtanen is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Virtanen throws a sloppy head kick and Wolowitz moves out of range easily.
Wolowitz is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Virtanen.
Wolowitz missing with a left hand there. Virtanen was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
A big right from Wolowitz misses.
Wolowitz fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Virtanen on the side of the head.

Wolowitz shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Wolowitz showed some decent athleticism there.

Virtanen is rocked!
Wolowitz looks to land a strike but Virtanen avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Wolowitz must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Wolowitz is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Wolowitz throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wolowitz throwing strikes from guard but Virtanen blocks nicely.
Virtanen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Wolowitz looking to sit in guard and control but Virtanen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Wolowitz trying to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Virtanen postures up in Wolowitz's guard and throws a big left but Wolowitz blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Virtanen tries to stand but Wolowitz is controlling from the bottom.
Wolowitz is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Wolowitz looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

Virtanen looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Wolowitz thows a huge punch but Virtanen dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Wolowitz not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Wolowitz lands strikes from half guard.
Wolowitz tries to pass to full mount but Virtanen defends it.
Virtanen has hold of Wolowitz's hands but Wolowitz slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Wolowitz trying to control the action but Virtanen is working from the bottom.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Wolowitz lands a nice short elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Howard Wolowitz dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Wolowitz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Wolowitz shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Virtanen is trying to defend but Wolowitz finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Wolowitz with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Wolowitz scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Wolowitz looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Wolowitz seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Wolowitz with the ground and pound but Virtanen uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Wolowitz stands up over Virtanen, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wolowitz controlling from the top position.
Wolowitz is in close to Virtanen's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Virtanen keeping moving, preventing Wolowitz from controlling successfully.
Wolowitz pushing down on Virtanen's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wolowitz landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Virtanen is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wolowitz looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Virtanen with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Wolowitz is nestled in close to Virtanen, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Wolowitz not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ground and pound from Wolowitz.
Wolowitz landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Oh Virtanen is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Virtanen on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Virtanen is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Wolowitz scores with a couple of nice shots.
Howard Wolowitz has got the better of the ground game so far.
Wolowitz not doing much here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wolowitz is nestled in close to Virtanen, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Wolowitz stalling.
Virtanen seems to have got his legs back now.
Wolowitz slips a nice elbow through Virtanen's hands, connecting with Virtanen's forehead.
Wolowitz drops an elbow to the side of Virtanen's head.
Wolowitz seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Wolowitz trying to control the action but Virtanen is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Virtanen has hold of Wolowitz's hands but Wolowitz slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Wolowitz not doing much here.
Wolowitz seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Virtanen does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Wolowitz winds up and cracks Virtanen with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Wolowitz connects with a nice short shot to Virtanen's temple.
Wolowitz moves nicely into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Howard Wolowitz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Wolowitz closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Virtanen to the mat! Virtanen manages to get full guard.
Wolowitz looking to pass the guard.
Wolowitz with a nice head shot there.
Wolowitz passes Virtanen's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Wolowitz is looking to take a break and control but Virtanen is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Wolowitz lands a nice short elbow.
Wolowitz passes to full mount!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wolowitz with the ground and pound from mount.
Wolowitz connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Wolowitz looking to control and managing it successfully.
Virtanen is in a horrible position here. Wolowitz smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wolowitz trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Wolowitz controlling the pace for now.
BOOM! Wolowitz connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Wolowitz looking to finish Virtanen with some ground and pound. This is bad for Virtanen!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wolowitz controlling from mount.
Wolowitz putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wolowitz controlling from the full mount.
Wolowitz scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Virtanen?
Wolowitz sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wolowitz landing strikes, looking to finish!
Wolowitz lands a big elbow - Virtanen is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Virtanen is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Howard Wolowitz!